Demon Run
by Froggeh12
Summary: It was just an innocent thrill. They would just sing Kikyou's Mourning, out in the middle of Demon Run, and nothing would happen. They didn't think they'd get thrown into Hell, and put to impossible tasks for their lives...and for the lives of each other.
1. A Modern Myth

**Demon Run**

**A Modern Myth**

**Froggeh12**

**A/N: **I've had this in my head for a while. :D I wanted a Halloween horror story this year, and the name "Demon Run" stuck in my head and refused to leave. Finally I came up with this story to match it. What better place to have a demon story than Hell, after all? Oh and… let's just assume that everyone celebrates Halloween in Japan the same way they do in America, alright? XD; It makes my life a lot easier. It kind of sucks that I didn't get this out in time for Halloween, but I think it'll make a fine general horror story.

---

It was actually a very nice night. The trees were swaying with the slightest of breezes, and the air felt fresh on faces red with cold. All of the leaves had turned a bright autumn red-orange color, and a fair amount had already fallen off… giving a great opportunity to rake them together and plop down into the pile.

Small children clogged the narrow streets in brightly colored, sometimes overly extravagant costumes. The children were most definitely anticipating those few houses that would have the "good stuff" - full sized Butterfingers, Hershey bars, and Snickers, as opposed to small pieces of sugary Double Bubble gum in blue and yellow faded wrappers that twisted around at the ends. Some of the less fortunate ten-year-olds were being dragged by their overprotective parents from house to house, glancing back forlornly at the groups of six-year-olds loosely being held together by a group of chatty young mothers.

Jack-o-lanterns of all kinds sat in windows, some glowering down on innocent passersby, others smiling brightly to make little girls in princess costumes giggle. Small garage haunted houses stood on a few houses, decked out in a spooky castle background and dimly lit by lanterns held by plastic ghosts. These haunted houses were generally accompanied by blood-curdling sound effects and a misty fog machine.

Most lawns held grave markers, a few with revenge-seeking skeletons popping out of the ground. Hidden bats seemed to lurk from the entryways to every house. A few of the nicer decorations included a friendly leaf-stuffed scarecrow, "Happy Halloween" musical doormats, and pumpkin garland.

Kagome sighed and looked down at her red tights. Regardless of all of the cute decorations, young children in adorable costumes, and cheap haunted houses, which usually made her squeal with laughter, she was in an awful mood.

She was fifteen years old and probably trick-or-treating for the last time, so she should've been enjoying this. Halloween had always been her favorite time of year. Free candy, cute decorations, and being scared by her own will was definitely idea her idea of fun and exciting. Chasing a horrifying urban legend, however, was _not_.

"Wetting my brand new tights wasn't on the agenda tonight," Kagome hissed to one of her friends, Eri Ito. Kagome and her five friends were making their way through the crowded street, ducking under tree branches and shoving aside bratty pirate-kids having swordfights. She resented herself for every step she took, knowing that each one meant she was a few inches closer to _that_ place.

Eri rolled her eyes, dodging an apple being thrown by a five-year-old vampire. "We knew that if we had told you, you wouldn't have wanted to come. You're too scared-y."

"Shut up," Kagome said irritably, smacking her friend in the head with her almost-full candy bag, very nearly missing a disgruntled-looking parent. "I just don't see what the point is, if you say that the legend isn't true."

"Didn't you ever play Bloody Mary as a kid?" Kagome's best friend, Sango Tanaka asked, frowning. "How about Candy Man, did you play that?"

"No."

"Ahh, I get it, you were the little girl hiding in the closet and crying for Mommy, weren't you?" Eri grinned knowingly.

"No!" Kagome exclaimed defensively. _Yes_,her memories argued.

She distinctly remembered when her childhood best friend, Rin, had hosted a Halloween party back in third grade. The giggling little girls had _insisted_ on playing "Bloody Mary" and every bloody other variation of the "mirror game" they could think of. Kagome had shrieked until her throat was sore when she felt someone's hand touch her right before stepping inside the bathroom. She locked herself in Rin's room and cried until her mother came and picked her up. It certainly wasn't her most pleasant Halloween experience - but then, she was sure that this year wouldn't be much better.

Sango scowled at Eri and wrapped an arm around Kagome's shoulders. "Don't worry about it, Kagome! Come on, would I let anything happen to you?" She pulled her back and looked at her seriously.

Kagome sighed and shook her head. Sango, who was seventeen, was almost an older sister figure to her - especially when it came to protecting her. Kagome had just recently started high school, while Sango was in her last year.

Sango smiled at her. "Good. And with that, we're off to…" She put on a particularly evil grin for dramatic effect and jumped in front of the group, stopping them in their tracks - causing quite a few stumbles and shoves, particularly from parents. "Demon Run! Who wants to hear the legend again!?"

"God," Kagome groaned, burying her head into her candy bag, as the rest of her friends yelled "Me!"

"It all began October 31st, 1921. Two teenagers - a girl named Kikyou and her handsome lover, Onigumo - were walking along the dirt rood, enjoying the evening. Onigumo was teasing Kikyou, who would occasionally smile… but she was always on the more reserved side. Suddenly, Onigumo let out a haunting scream. He was pulled into the woods by shadowy hands and never seen again." Sango recited the story out of memory. She finished her sentence dramatically, glancing around proudly to make sure that she still had a captivated audience.

Sure enough, Sango's friends Eri, Yuka, Ayumi, and Ayame were all listening attentively, hypnotized by the legend they had grown up hearing. Kagome sighed once again; for years she had been known as the "Not-Quite-Kikyou" because of how much they looked alike and for their entirely opposite personalities. Sango smiled apologetically, but continued nevertheless.

"Kikyou appeared devastated to the general public… but the truth was that Kikyou was seeing another man, a man named Inuyasha, just a month after Onigumo's death! For the following eleven months, Kikyou and this man were rarely ever seen. Some described him as a terrible beast with eleven eyes and horns jutting out from his arms and legs, others said he was a normal-looking boy… except for his piercing red eyes. Whoever or whatever he was, he had healed young, cold Kikyou's heart abnormally fast.

"Finally the one-year anniversary of Onigumo's death came, and Kikyou was wandering down the dirt road she lived on once again, only this time with her younger sister, Kaede. Suddenly Kikyou was attacked from behind. Poor Kaede had to watch in horror as her older sister was murdered viciously. She says that the only thing she could see of the attacker was a shadow and that every time she tried to help her sister she was knocked back by seemingly nothing in mid-air. She was terrified and ran to get help. When she came back, Kikyou was taking her final shuddering breath. She told Kaede that the man she had loved was a demon and had to die. It was assumed that Inuyasha attacked Kikyou that night.

"Furious, Kaede ran screaming into the streets, 'Demon! He's a God-forsaken demon!' She described him to officials and within an hour they had found him in Kikyou's home, calmly listening to the radio. They burned him that day in the middle of the dirt road, and it is said that since he was actually a half-demon, his human side died and he was no longer free to wander out of Hell. He was bound there for eternity, serving his master. Demons are almost like Death, as they kill humans on Earth… but they only kill the wicked at heart. Inuyasha, however, is different. He denied every accusation thrown at him regarding Kikyou's death. He cursed the humans who resided in the town presently and all who were to come. They named the street were he died "Demon Run", and it is said that even those with the purest of hearts who sing "Kikyou's Mourning" in the middle of the street are killed instantly by Kikyou's bitter lover."

Sango glanced around once again at her awed gathering before taking a large, sweeping bow and smiling. "Now let's go!"

The group started shuffling along again, avoiding the death glares annoyed trick-or-treaters shot at the six friends after having to walk around them and into the grass. Kagome shuddered as the light chattering and soft laughter resumed amongst the group. She walked in apprehensive silence as they drew nearer and nearer towards the old infamous street.

The once dirt roads had since been paved a smooth tar color, and the houses were fairly well-groomed for living on a cursed road. Most teenagers were terrified to come here, since there had been actual cases of disappearances over the years. The people who lived there had never complained about any sort of death, other than the old dying of old age sort. In fact, all people on that street were perfectly average, healthy families and couples. They couldn't be bothered with singing "Kikyou's Mourning" when they had better things to do - or maybe they were too scared, like much of Tokyo was. And for those who weren't scared… well…

Kagome gave another shiver, this time from the cold. Her costume tonight had consisted of red spandex covering her body, as well as two circular cardboard cut outs, painted red and dotted a thick black, with a strap at the top holding both sides together over her shoulders. She was a lady bug for Halloween, while her other friends had chosen smarter things, like full gorilla costumes and heavy-material witch costumes. Kagome had the cutest costume in everyone's opinion, granted, but being cute wasn't going to help her when the hypothermia set in.

"Are you still being chicken, Kagome?" Eri smirked.

_Oh, I _really _want to punch her in the face right now._

"Shut up, Eri," Sango snapped. "We're not all as brave as the girl who cried for an hour straight last year after seeing The Ring."

Kagome laughed at the memory. Why hadn't _she_ thought of using that? She looked back at Sango. Oh, yeah. That was why.

Sango was the stronger of the two in their friendship. Sango was the fierce one, the one Kagome always depended on to get her out of trouble. Kagome was the kind one; the one more likely to build up rage and only let it out once her internal rage capacity was filled.

Eri scowled but did as she was told. No one messed with Sango when she got mad. The gang was almost to the wooden lavender bridge, the steep one that would lead them out of their area of the neighborhood and directly into Demon Run. Demon Run, along with other middle-class sections of the neighborhood, was on one side of the bridge, while the "rich kids" were on the other side. According to everyone who knew stories about the old bridge and how it had been built, the bridge wasn't built purposely to separate the two groups. Everything else just formed around it in such a way. The middle-class families kept their heads down and out of the way of the high-class families who didn't want them there. And there the bridge stood, dividing the neighborhood into two, rather than unifying two sections of land.

The front of the group, Ayame and Yuka, stopped upon reaching the base of the bridge. They turned around to look at Sango, who was, very protectively, at Kagome's side. Sango motioned them to come closer, and they walked over obediently. "What is it?" Ayame asked.

"Listen carefully. There have been disappearances in the past, and no one knows why. There have only been three cases of this over the past eighty years, but there could be some freaks hiding in the shadows, knowing that teenagers will come there to try it out. If someone comes for us, we leave no one behind. I don't care how scared you are. _No one_ gets left behind, do you hear me?"

The group nodded in silent agreement.

"If they do, we run like mad to one of the houses. Demon Run is very nicely populated and goes down for about a quarter of a mile before branching out into other streets - and it's stupid to go back over the bridge when there are houses right in front of us. People will see us no matter what, though." She turned around in a complete circle and gestured to the bright, jumbled rows of trick-or-treaters. "We stay close together, shoulders touching. No one wanders off. Are there any questions?"

Kagome glanced around at her friends, who all stood quietly, waiting for any further instruction.

"Alright, then, let's get going. Ayame, I want you…" She was cut off by a light tugging on her thick sleeve. She turned to see a wide-eyed Kagome. "Yes, Kagome?" she asked patiently.

"Sango… if it's possible that there are killers lurking in every corner, then we're not just dealing with a myth here."

Yuka shrugged. "Kagome, just by walking down the street you're taking a risk."

Kagome cringed at the thought but continued nonetheless. "This is different. It's…"

"How is it different?" Yuka interrupted irritably. She was Eri's best friend, and they both had a constant raging temper.

Kagome sighed and shook her head. "Never mind. Let's just go." There was no arguing with them. If she said anymore, she would be _forced_ to go back.

Sango smiled. "Now, as I was saying… Ayame, lead the way!"

"Right!" Ayame replied with a toothy grin. Ayame was in the same grade as Sango, and was Sango's other best friend.

She started up the bridge with some difficulty. The bridge was wide enough for maybe two people and built like a short mountain. It was terrifying enough just to walk up; to actually end up in Demon Run, knowing that you were about to sing Kikyou's Mourning, was even worse. A small amount of relief came after hitting the summit of the "mountain"; Kagome watched Ayame slide down the other side in her gorilla costume.

"Fantastic," Kagome muttered bitterly. "If I even try that I'll get stuck to the bridge from so many splinters."

Next it was Yuka's turn, then Ayumi, then Eri, and then Sango. Sango asked Kagome if she wanted to go before her so she wouldn't feel so nervous being alone on the other side, but Kagome quickly declined.

Sango laughed wildly as she slid down the other side, causing the others to join in. Sango was like that; she could make any group of people laugh hysterically in a matter of seconds.

Kagome gave one last shutter before climbing the bridge. Step, step, GRAB the railing, step, step, GRAB, step, step, shuffle - … She cursed her weakness as she lost her balance for a moment and nearly dived straight into the thick wood.

"Keep your balance, Kagome!" she heard Ayumi and Ayame call simultaneously.

Kagome nodded in response and slowly descended from the peak. Step, step, GRAB, step, step, GRAB…

When she reached the ground, she kicked a tree stump in anger. "Far be it from me to question the architectural design on things around here, but don't you think that maybe it'd be easier if the bridge was just flat on the ground rather than going an unnecessary ten feet in the air?"

The five other girls shrugged in response, before trudging out to further in the road as a cluster. Kagome followed a few feet behind, taking in her surroundings. She passed Demon Run everyday (on her side of the bridge, of course), and yet she had never been here. Sango, Eri, Yuka, Ayumi, and Ayame had lived in this neighborhood their entire lives, and apparently would ride down the bridge like a slide when they were younger and play in the small river beneath the bridge. Their parents would watch them with a smirk on their lips as they mused about the smaller houses and backyards that were on Demon Run. They paid no attention to nonsense such as ghost stories, and didn't think much of disappearances. It could happen anywhere, after all. No, the five other girls had been here many times before, but to Kagome, this was all unfamiliar territory.

Finally the group stopped in the middle of the road, directly in between two flickering lampposts.

"So…" Eri breathed after a moment of motionless silence.

"So?" Sango blinked and seemed to come back to reality. "Well, let's say it! You guys all remember it, right?"

Suddenly the brave weren't _quite _so brave, and they mumbled an almost inaudible "yes". Kagome smirked triumphantly to herself.

"Now, get into a circle."

The teenage girls shuffled around, forming a small circle. Sango nodded at them. That was their cue.

The six girls took a deep breath and began:

"Kikyou, Kikyou, we mourn for your soul,

For the loss that you have endured,

For your beauty, for your grace, that we loved,

Surely the demons will one day be punished,

And until then, we continue to mourn."

The group finished up and glanced around nervously. Everything was the same. There were still trick-or-treaters shrieking in surprise, laughing as they threw granola bars at each other, ringing doorbells and collecting their candy.

"Well?" Eri demanded, glancing around. "This is the part where the half-demon comes and kills us all!"

With that, the road roared in anger, and swallowed the six girls whole, oblivious to their terrified screams as they fell a long way down…

**A/N: **This is **NOT** a one-shot!! And yes, "Kikyou's Mourning" isn't fantastically written. I am not a poet; I am a story-writer. XD Deal with it.


	2. Was it a Dream?

**Demon Run**

**Was It a Dream?**

**Froggeh12**

**---**

Kagome woke very suddenly, her heart thumping rapidly in her chest. Her heart was beating… and she was able to wake up… she wasn't dead!

"It was a dream…" she breathed, closing her eyes again. Then she noticed something was a little off. She was lying on something very hard, very cold, and very damp. She forced herself to open her eyes again - and immediately began to hyperventilate.

She was chained to the ground in a sort of tiny prison cell. The walls were made of thickly caked, slowly dripping mud. Her five friends weren't moving, but she was relieved to see that they were breathing. They, too, had been chained, though none too carefully. Ayame's right foot was twisted and very obviously broken. Ayumi's left arm chain was on the wall and her right arm chain was on the ground three feet to the right of her left arm, causing her to sleep in a very awkward position. Yuka and Eri both had to sleep upside down, their chains were so jumbled. And Sango… Kagome's eyes widened in horror. Sango wasn't there.

Kagome started to scream, shrieking "HELP, HELP, HELP!" over and over again. It didn't occur to the panic-stricken girl that the only people around would be the ones that had chained them in the first place.

"I see…" A disembodied male voice seemed to smirk at Kagome as its quiet voice filled the entire cell with a dark, chilling air. "One of you has woken up very early. How strange…"

Kagome tried to lift her head up enough to see who was talking. All she could see was the fur of a white pelt. This guy was _weird_, whoever he was.

The man flicked his wrist at the steel bars. Kagome watched with a mixture of fright and amazement as the steel came undone and coiled around and back into its place at the top of the cell entryway. Kagome could feel her breathing slowly become less shallow as the man approached her. For a reason she could not explain, she was more curious than frightened. He slowly bent down to undo her chains, and for the first time Kagome realized that it was a bamboo pelt. The bamboo's face was blue-green in color and underneath was the face of a thirty-something male. He curiously brushed a hand across her face. "You haven't been dead very long… you are still connected to Earth…"

Kagome's eyes widened. 'I… I can't be… dead?'

"Where am I?" she snapped, feeling herself beginning to panic again. A bitter substance slowly rose up in the back of her throat. She cringed and forced it back down. She had already shown weakness by screaming like a caged animal. She couldn't afford to vomit too.

"In Hell," the man replied breezily. He turned around and flicked his wrist at the entryway, perhaps a bit more roughly than last time. As though sensing the increased amount of force, the metal shot back down roughly to block the path of anyone attempting to go in the cell… or come out.

The man turned around to face Kagome, who started back at him disbelievingly. He chuckled lightly, as though they were enjoying small talk over tea. "What did you expect, Miss Higurashi? Did you think that when you get to Hell you see a nice banner welcoming you? I'm afraid that we must treat all new guests so rudely, so that they don't panic and attempt to do something rash. It's unfortunate when they try to run away. These bars are highly malleable with the right amount of power." He flicked his fingers for emphasis and grinned in a way that made Kagome feel ready to vomit all over again. One of the metal bars had become extremely sharp and pointed.

"How do you know my name, anyway?" she snarled fiercely.

"Oh, how terribly rude of me," the man said smoothly. "I am Naraku. I am, shall I say, the _leader_ of Hell… and you, Kagome, are in this record book." In his hands appeared a massive book with wooden covers, growing larger and larger by the second. The book simply read: 2002.

She shuddered and forced herself not to cry out. She found it in herself to ask another question. "But… what you said about those who try to escape… how do you die once you're already dead?"

"Simple," Naraku replied. "You move to a lower layer of hell." The book disappeared. He knelt down beside her and gingerly undid her chains, as gently as he would handle a flower. It terrified her, having this obviously unstable man leaning over her, but it didn't seem as though he intended to harm her. He seemed interested in her more than anything else… but then again, he didn't seem very predictable.

As soon as she was free, Kagome stood up and demanded in a voice that she prayed sounded stronger than she felt, "Let my friends go, too!" She suddenly remembered something very, very important… "And where is Sango?! What have you done with Sango?!"

"Sango tried to escape." The answer was blunt and harsh.

That was it. She couldn't take anymore. "NO!" She broke into loud, choking sobs. This _had _to be a dream… she could will this away… 'Wake up! Please, please, wake up!'

"I'm afraid it's true. You'll be able to visit your friend, certainly, but at the moment she is in a cell very much like this one in layer 2." He moved over to undo Ayumi's chains.

"What does it take to move out of these cells?" Kagome asked through her tears.

"A day."

"A day of what? What sort of purpose does a day in this awful place serve?"

"As I said, Miss Higurashi, many newcomers will try to do something reckless. This is your opportunity to come to terms with your death, why you died, and why you deserve to be here."

"Where else would I be?"

"It's a Heaven, of sorts. It isn't perfect, but it is much better than Earth… much friendlier than here, you see. Their newcomers accept their deaths much more quickly."

Kagome burst into tears once again. "You mean I _deserve_ to be here? Was I that awful in life? I always tried to obey the law… I tried to respect my Mom and Grandpa, and the teachers…"

"No, technically, you do not deserve to be here. Your sins are numerous, but none are severe enough to end up here. This is why you are in layer 1 of Hell. You simply angered the curse that Inuyasha the half-demon put on the road, so it retaliated." He was undoing Eri's chains now. Yuka was the only one who still had all of her chains on. "You were lucky enough to arrive with friends. Not all are as fortunate."

"Are… are there similar curses out there?" Kagome asked slowly.

"Yes."

So, Demon Run wasn't the only myth that killed without the consent of a demon or Death. That meant that there were many other innocents, like her, here in Hell…

Kagome leaned against the mud wall and slumped down, watching with exhaustion as Naraku unfastened Yuka's chains. When all of her friends were free, she looked up at Naraku. "Please… isn't there some way I can move on to Heaven…?"

Naraku turned to her sharply. His eyes grew even colder. "No." He flicked his wrist angrily at the bars, which shot up, and immediately shot down after he left.

Kagome struggled to stay awake. She was exhausted and wanted to go back to sleeping, but somehow… somehow she just wasn't tired at all. She was wide awake and wanting to know more, wanting to get out of this awful prison. Wanting to kiss Mama goodbye… wanting to tell Grandpa she appreciated his stories… wanting to tell Souta that one day he'll do great things… wanting to _live_. But she couldn't. And she couldn't stay awake much longer…

She was soon fast asleep on the mud floor, crying her way to dreams of her family.

---

Kagome awoke several hours later to horrified screams and sobbing. Her eyelids flickered open. She slowly eased herself up against the wall. It only took her a moment to remember where she was and who those crying girls were…

"I want my mom!"

"Let me go home!"

Ayame was off to the side, cradling her twisted foot. Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka were hugging each other for comfort and crying.

"Hey…" Kagome murmured, sitting up.

The girls turned to face her. "Oh, Kagome… you're up…" Ayumi sighed, tears spilling from her eyes and down her cheeks. "Do you know where we are?"

"Are we in prison?" Ayame asked with a whimper.

Kagome stood up and shook her head. "You guys…you'll never believe me…"

"Are we in Hell, Kagome?" Eri cried out. "Is that it? Tell us what you know! Tell us what we're doing in this horrible room!"

Kagome nodded mournfully. "It… it actually worked. We're in Hell. We're dead. We can't leave."

These words brought on a new wave of tears. Kagome walked over to Ayame, who was alone, and hugged her. Ayame buried her face into Kagome's side, like a child being comforted by her mother. Suddenly Kagome felt stronger than them all. She didn't feel like crying anymore. There was something inside her that told her she had a mission to accomplish. She recognized this feeling as the same one that had kept her awake just a few hours ago.

"Someone should be coming soon," Kagome said quietly. She didn't know how she knew; she just did. She wouldn't be the one to explain things to them.

And someone did indeed come…

"Ladies, please stand up," the voice said coldly. Five female faces looked up to see a female with a male voice… no, wait… a pretty male with a male voice standing on the other side of the bars.

This man was clearly a demon. He had long, silver-white hair but a young, handsome face. He had two purple stripes on each side of his face and a crescent moon on his forehead. They all seemed to be entirely natural, not made with a tattoo or any other sort of ink. He was wearing strange clothing: traditional Japanese clothing with armor and a white fluffy thing wrapped around him. The girls stood up and stared at him unabashedly.

"I am Sesshomaru. As I believe you have already been informed by Miss Higurashi, you are in Hell – however, you are in the first layer of Hell, which means that you will live life as you did on Earth but work hard each day for it.

"According to the record book, all six of you, including your friend Miss Tanaka, are in Hell not because of your sins, but because of the curse of Demon Run. No, this is not an elaborate prank, and no, you will not be allowed to go back to Earth. You have all been dead for twelve hours now. Are there any questions?" The demon's voice was monotone and uncaring. He ignored the fresh tears brought to the girls' eyes.

Eri raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Ito?"

"Where is Sango, sir?" Eri asked meekly.

"Your friend tried to escape and was 'killed', in a sense. She was dragged down to the layer of Hell below this one – layer 2. Layer 2 isn't terrible, your friend will not be miserable for eternity, but she does have to work very, very hard… and yes, you'll be able to visit her. As you'll see, each person gets assigned a job in Hell. These jobs become more brutal, more time consuming, and more complicated and numerous for each layer. The residents of layer 9 never sleep because they fear the nightmares, never eat because they're too miserable. Let that be a warning to you."

The girls nodded in understanding. Eri, Yuka, Ayumi, and Ayame watched with wide eyes as the bars coiled up slowly. Kagome understood now: This was a test. If one of them tried to escape… she would be killed and sent to layer 2. Well, then why had Naraku done it while she had been chained? 'Because he's a show-off.'

Thankfully the girls had taken Sesshomaru's warning seriously and didn't try to escape. He motioned to them for follow him, and only then did the five girls, who were huddled close, move. They walked down a long, narrow hallway, made out of the same oozing mud as their cell. Kagome began to wonder if all buildings in Hell looked so miserable. It looked as though everything was simply a large tunnel dug underground.

Sesshomaru led the way to a large room. He walked over to a desk, with a sign above it announcing "Work Placement and Reassignment".

"Newcomers," Sesshomaru said briefly to the demon behind the counter. The demon nodded and counted five heads. He turned away for a second and ducked down. A moment later he reappeared with five plastic cards and a hole puncher. He slid them over to Sesshomaru, who nodded in gratitude.

"These are your options, adjusted to what your skills were in life."

To Kagome's great amazement, each option did fit her skills in life. "Painting… psychology… Wait, demon control?"

"Because you seem to have a deep understanding of the human mind – psychology – demon control is an option to soothe demons and reckless humans. You will develop your skills. All skills such as painting, knitting, and carving, are for items to be bought, just like on Earth. You will carve tables, paint designs, and so on. As I have told you, the first layer of Hell is much like life on Earth. You don't have such nice options when you are in the second layer. You will work from 7 am to 5 pm each day. You then have from 5 pm to 7 pm to shop for whatever items you need, then you are to retire to the place you live."

The girls nodded briefly. One by one, each girl took the hole puncher and put it through the box next to the option they wanted most. Kagome was the last to pick. Painting… something she had loved her entire life… or demon control, something that could help others. She felt new tears rise up and begin to pool in her eyes. She blinked them away. She couldn't cry now. She put the hole puncher through the box next to "Demon control" and sadly pushed the card on to the desk. Immediately she received a badge with her name and occupation, which she put on her shirt.

**Kagome Higurashi  
Demon Control  
Layer 1**

Still… she held on to the feeling that maybe this wasn't all there was going to be for her. Maybe there was still a chance… maybe that feeling, that sense of something needing to be done, was genuine. Maybe there was still hope.

**A/N:** I know, I know, don't worry… it doesn't stay this way, Kagome doesn't stay in layer 1 and just complain about how miserable she is the whole time. There IS a plot to this, after all... involving an adventure. Just sit tight. XD


End file.
